Download Self-calibrating precision timing circuit and method for a laser range
Transcript
US005703678A United States Patent [191 [11] Patent Number: Dunne [45] [54] Date of Patent: SELF-CALIBRATING PRECISION TIMING CIRCUIT AND METHOD FOR A LASER 4,770,526 5,046,339 RANGE FINDER 5,157,403 1011992 Urkowitz. 5,221,956 [75] Inventor: Jeremy G. Dunne. Littleton. Colo. _ Notice: The term of this patent shall not extend [21] Appl' No; 717,635 [22] Filed: 6/1993 Patterson et al7 . Sep. 23, 1996 _ , _ Pro Laser 11. Infrared Lidar System. User Manual PIN 006-053-00. Kustom Signals. 1nc.. Chanute. Kansas. , [631 Pro Laser H. Infrared Lidar System. User Manual P/N 006-0535-00. Kustom Signals. Inc. Chanute. Kansas. 1991. pp. 1-37. Pro Laser II. Tra?ic Safety Lidar. Lidarsystem Functions— Speci?cations Brochure. Kustom Signals. Inc. Lenexa. KS. Feb. 1994. pp. 1-4. Markshaw LTI 20-20 Laser Speed Detection System. Operator’s Manual. Laser Technology. Inc. Englewood. C0_ 1994_ pp_ 1_45. Related U'S' Apphumon Data @1991. pp. 1-37. °‘ 5°“ N°- 375,941’ I“ 19’ 1995’ P“ N°' [52] 9/1988 Manhart et al. . 9/ 1991 Kmgle - OTHER PUBLICATIONS beyond the expiration date of Pat. No. 5.574.552. [51] *Dec. 30, 1997 5’359’4O4 1011994 Dunne ' [73] Assrgnee: Laser Technology, Inc. Englewood. calj? [*1 5,703,678 Int. Cl.‘5 ........................... .. G01C 3/08; 6018 13/08; Pro Laser 11. Tra?ic Safety Lidar. Lidar System Functions. Lidar System Speci?cations Brochure. Kustom Signals. Inc.. Lenexa. Kansas. Feb. 1992. pp. 1-4. GOlP 3/36 Marksman LI'I 20-20. Laser Speed Detection System. US. Cl. ....................... .. 356/505; 342/134; 342/135; Operator’s Manual. Laser Technology. Inc.. Englewood. 342/202; 356/28 [58] Field of Search .................. .. 356g54(2)/51.3258;2?B422/;3611. ‘ [56] ‘ ‘ 8‘ “an Lu’ us. PATENT DOCUMENTS 6/1967 2/1972 3/1972 5/1976 7/1980 3/1981 4,569,599 2/1986 Bolkow a a1‘ . Primary Examiner_stcphen C_ Buczinski Attorney Agent, or Firm-William J. Kubida. Esq.; Holland References Cited 3,325,750 3,644,740 3,652,161 3,959,641 4,2l4,242 4259592 Colorado @1994. pp. l-45. [57] ABSTRACT O’Hem et a1‘ , Dobmz et A I Ross . Miller, Ir- 8! a1- ‘301iI1 Fnmgd e‘ "1' ‘ A highly precise range measurement instrument is made possible through the use of a novel and ef?cient precision timing circuit which makes use of the instrument‘s internal 6°" eteil'al'l . gulse tvidth dtilereby providing the central processing unit crystal oscillator. A multi-point cali bration function includes the determination of a “zero“ value and a value through the addition of a known calibrated etermimng 4,571,035 2/1986 Anderson. 4,620,788 11/1986 Gigel'. stance with the constant and scale for ear discharge of “Pulm 4,699,508 10/1987 Bolkow et al. . 35 Claims, 8 Drawing Sheets 10 ‘III Tu Tu In (New US. Patent Dec. 30, 1997 Sheet 2 of 8 5,703,678 Jr timzék [.2 ol .2104m2" HYd mw>Om >.E¢Dw .523 Nat US. Patent Dec. 30, 1997 Sheet 3 of 8 5,703,678 N N 3 6“oh at 50E 9 1 1.1 25702m >I20m o l . mw>Om >.En5m .EZD .523 mZNOE mat US. Patent Dec. 30, 1997 942 —————-c _S Q /"\ REF ——-———>CLK (A) FROM Sheet 4 of 8 +5V0-— D 5,703,678 +5v 16‘ _ Fig.2 Q in F 166 I 152 160 o-_-_ Z CPU CLK > CLK (E) +5v FROM __ Fig- 6 cm 00L“ 01 __ Q2 SIR 2:" 154 (F) or TO fNORM 1cm. BSA 05* DSB as __ 01 Fig. 6 (‘F (C) RX 0 T ( U +) \ 168 100 Fla-8 IRESET ["156 4F +5V 192 184 [RESET ' 198 188 190 ND (POWER CORRECTION) 22$") ‘000 \ 196 FROM Fig. 6 US. Patent Dec. 30, 1997 178 (wok Sheet 5 of 8 25s / T_0 258 5,703,678 L OFF “0 D FIQ- 4 +5v an FROM Fig. 6 216 226 220 224 218 246 222 I_ 206 208 210 (H) 236 FROM Fig. 4 TIMER 3 214 ran‘ 244 ~ - (M) TO Fig. 6 EUR/CLAMP J V1 0W) 248 228 250 \TO Fig. 6 260 ) % 212 230 Al .\238 2 240 242 254 [ Q 252 5 CAL DITHER $0 Fig. 6 5 ,703,678 2 1 sive actuations of a push button mode switch while simul SELF-CALIBRATING PRECISION TIMING taneously sighting the target object. A precision mode of CIRCUIT AND METHOD FOR A LASER RANGE FINDER operation may also be invoked in which an even more precise measurement to an object may be achieved follow ing an measurement together with the visual indica tion of a “precision flag” on the in-sight display. This application is a continuation application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/375,941 for SELF CALIBRATING PRECISION TIMING CIRCUIT AND METHOD FOR A LASER RANGE FINDER ?led Jan. 19. 1995, now U.S. Pat. No. 5.574.552. A highly precise range measurement is made possible through the use of a novel and e?icient timing circuit which makes use of the instrument’s internal central processing 10 CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS The present invention is related to those disclosed and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 5.574.552 for: “Laser Range Finder unit crystal oscillator. A likewise unique automatic noise threshold determining circuit allows for instrument opera tion with a low signal-to-noise ratio to optimize sensitivity and performance in conjunction with a processor based pulse discrimination procedure which, nevertheless assures accurate range measurements. The unit herein disclosed can be utilized in a multitude of Having Selectable Target Acquisition Characteristics and endeavors including such recreational activities as golf Range Measuring Precision"; and U.S. Pat. No. 5.612.775 for: “Automatic Noise Threshold Determining Circuit and where it can be utilized to very accurately determine the distance to a ?ag or pin as well as to trees and other natural Method for a Laser Range Finde ”. all ?led concurrently herewith and assigned to the assignee of the present invention. Laser Technology. Inc.. Englewood. Colo.. the disclosures of which are hereby speci?cally incorporated by 20 objects. The principles of the invention are further appli cable to the design of a laser based “tape measure" where ranges can be precisely measured with resolutions of on the order of an inch or less. Speci?cally disclosed herein is a self-calibrating. preci this reference. sion tinting circuit and method for determining a range to a BACKGROUND OF'THE INVENTION 25 The circuit comprises means for initially establishing ?rst and second reference voltage levels together with means for The present invention relates. in general. to the ?eld of distance or range measuring equipment. More particularly. nnclamping the second reference voltage level and means for allowing the second reference voltage level to then the present invention relates to a laser based range ?nder which may be inexpensively produced yet provides highly diminish at a ?rst rate to the ?rst reference voltage level. Further provided are means for storing a ?rst reference time accurate precision range measurements of up to 1000 yards or more with a resolution of less than 1 yard. The laser range ?nder herein disclosed has a number of user selectable target acquisition and enhanced precision measurement modes which may be viewed on an in-sight display during aiming and operation of the instrument. Extremely efficient self 35 calibrating precision timing and automatic noise threshold circuits incorporated in the design provide a compact, low extending from the step of nnclamping until the ?rst and second reference voltage levels are determined to be equal. Means are also provided for then re-establishing the ?rst and second reference voltage levels together with means for again unclamping the second reference voltage level. Addi tional means are provided for increasing the second refer ence voltage level at a second higher rate than the ?rst rate for a predetermined period of time to establish a third reference voltage level together with means for then allow ing the third reference voltage level to diminish at the ?rst rate to the ?rst reference voltage level at which time. a cost. highly accurate and reliable ranging instrument for a multitude of uses. Laser based distance and range measuring equipment have been used for a number of years to provide extremely accurate distance measurements to a remote target or object. second reference time extending from the step of again nnclamping until the ?rst and third reference voltage levels A representative instrument is the Criterion” 100 laser range ?nder developed and marketed by Laser Technology, Inc., assignee of the present invention. Although a highly accurate and reliable device. its great distance ranging target based upon a ?ight time of a pulse toward the target. 45 are equal is additionally stored. The ?rst and second refu ence voltage levels are again re-established and the second reference voltage level is further unclamped. Means are capability and inherent complexity translates to a cost and provided for again increasing the second reference voltage form factor most suitable only for certain speci?c applica level at the second higher rate for a period of time related to the ?ight time of the pulse to the target to establish a fourth reference voltage level. together with means for then allow ing the fourth reference voltage level to diminish at the ?rst rate to the ?rst reference voltage level. A third reference time tions. A need therefore exists for a laser based range ?nder of perhaps more limited range, which can be economically manufactured as a rugged. compact unit to provide accurate distance measurement capabilities in other less stringent types of applications. SUMIvIARY OF THE INVENTION Herein disclosed is a precise, yet accurate and reliable laser range ?nder which may be economically produced and is adapted to individual portable use in a unit potentially weighing less than a pound with an on-board battery based power supply. Moreover. the compact instrument herein provided has a number of user selectable target acquisition operational modes which may be invoked depending on the distance, type and re?ectivity of the target being sighted. Through the use of an in-sight display. distance or range information can be shown while the user may also view and select the instrument’s mode of operation through succes 55 extending from the nnclamping of the second reference voltage level until the ?rst and fourth reference voltage levels are equal is then stored and the range to the target may be computed as proportional to the quantity of the (third reference time minus the ?rst reference time) divided by the quantity of the (second reference time minus the ?rst refer ence time). In a particular embodiment the establishing means may comprise a transistor switch for coupling a capacitor to a source of the second voltage while the nnclamping means may comprise a second transistor switch for decoupling the capacitor from the second voltage source. The allowing means may comprise a third transistor switch coupling a resistor to the capacitor to bleed olf the charge therefrom. 5,703,678 3 4 The means for increasing the second reference voltage level may comprise means for applying a charge to the capacitor at the second rate and the predetermined time period speci?ed may be determined by reference to a crystal oscillator. In a particular embodiment. the second charging rate may be substantially 1000 times the ?rst discharging unit 16 for supplying operating power in conjunction with the main power supply unit 12 to a laser transmit section 18. The laser transmit section 18 activates a laser emitting diode 20 for directing a laser signal toward an object in the operation of the laser range ?nder 10. The laser transmit section 18 also supplies a lFlRE signal to the central rate. processing unit (“CPU") section 28 as will be more fully described hereinafter. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The main power supply unit 12 also supplies operating The foregoing and other features and objects of the power to a laser receive section 22 which further has as an present invention and the manner of attaining them will become more apparent and the invention itself will be best understood by reference to the following description of a preferred embodiment taken in conjunction with the accom input a signal generated by a laser receiving diode 24 as the laser signal emitted from the laser emitting diode 20 is re?ected from an object back thereto. The laser receive section 22 supplies a Vmmhou signal and RX(OUT+) signal panying drawings. wherein: to an automatic noise threshold section 36 and a precision timing section 34 both of which will be described in more FIG. 1 is a simpli?ed logic block diagram of a laser range ?nder in accordance with the present invention illustrating the signi?cant functional aspects thereof. inclusive of a laser signal transmitting and receiving section. central processing unit and the precision timing and automatic noise threshold sections thereof; 20 detail hereinafter. The CPU section 28 receives as one input a signal from a mode switch 26 by means of which an operator can change the operating mode and functional operation of the laser range ?nder 10. An oscillator 30 supplies a clocking signal to the CPU section 28 as well as to the precision timing section 34. The CPU section 28 provides an output indica signal producing diode and the associated driving and ref 25 tive of the distance from the laser range ?nder 10 to an object as sighted through a viewing scope thereof on an in-sight erence signal producing circuitry; FIG. 2 is a detailed schematic diagram of the laser transmit section of FIG. 1 illustrating, inter alia. the laser liquid crystal display (“LCD”) 32. FIG. 3 is an additional detailed schematic diagram of the laser receive section of FIG. 1 illustrating, inter alia. the laser signal receiving diode. transimpedance ampli?er and the precision comparator for establishing the Vmmhold and RX(Out+) signals for the precision timing and automatic 30 noise threshold circuits; FIGS. 4 and 5 are further detailed schematic diagrams of the precision timing section of the laser range ?nder of FIG. 1 illustrating the circuit nodes for establishing the voltages V1 and V2 during the zero. calibration (“CAL”) and laser 35 ?ring phases of operation; FIG. 6 is an additional detailed schematic diagram of the central processing unit (“CPU”) portion of the laser range ?nder of FIG. 1 illustrating the CPU. associated oscillator transmit section 18 is shown in more detail. The laser ing measured distances to an operator of the laser range ?nder in addition to the various signals for operative asso ciation with the precision timing and automatic noise thresh 45 circuit ground on ground line 60. A capacitor 62 couples the ground 60. An additional diode 64 is coupled in parallel with the laser emitting diode 20 having its anode connected to the cathode of the laser emitting diode 20 and its cathode connected to circuit ground 60. A resistor 66 is placed in parallel with the laser emitting diode 20 and the diode 64. and accurate calculation of the distance to an object from the DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED ENLBODIMENT The emitter of transistor 54 is coupled to its base by means of a resistor 58 which also couples the collector of transistor 56 to resistor 52. The emitter of transistor 56 is connected to emitter of transistor 54 to the cathode of the laser emitting diode 20 which has its anode also connected to circuit laser range ?nder; and FIG. 8 is a ?nal detailed schematic diagram of the automatic noise threshold section of the laser range ?nder of FIG. 1 illustrating the various components thereof as well as the signals coupling the same to the laser receive section and number of signals to the precision tiruing section 34 includ ing a HOLD OFF. NORM/CAL. IRESEI‘. and a CAL DITHER signal. The automatic noise threshold section 36 also receives a number of inputs from the CPU section 28 including a number of noise set (“NSEI‘") signals and a REFLECTION MODE signal to operatively control its function. With reference additionally now to FIG. 2. the laser transmit section 18 receives a transmit (‘TX”) BIAS signal on supply line 50 of approximately 110 to 140 volts for application through resistor 52 to the emitter of transistor 54. and the in-sight liquid crystal display (“LCD”) for display old sections thereof; FIGS. 7A. 7B. and 7C are individual graphic representa tions of the voltages V1 and V2 of certain of the precision timing section circuit nodes during the zero. calibration and laser ?ring phases of operation from which the values Zeromm. Calm” and LaserTmE are derived to enable rapid The precision timing section 34 provides a number of signals to the CPU section 28 including a TIMER and IRX DETECI‘ signals as shown and receives a FIN/CLAMP signal back therefrom. The CPU section 28 provides a 55 A source of +5 volts is also received by the laser transmit section 18 on supply line 68 through resistor 70. Resistor 70 is coupled to the emitter of transistor 72 as well as to circuit ground 60 through a capacitor 74. A resistor 76 couples the emitter of transistor 72 to its base which is coupled through resistor 78 to line 80 for supplying a IFIRE signal to the CPU section 28 (shown in FIG. 1). With reference now to FIG. 1. a logic block diagram of a laser range ?nder 10in accordance with the present inven An additional diode 82 has its anode connected to the collector of transistor 72 and its cathode coupled to circuit tion is shown. The laser range ?nder 10 includes. in pertinent part. a main power supply unit (“PSU") 12 as operatively controlled by a trigger switch 14. The main power supply unit 12 is coupled to a high voltage (“HV”) power supply cathode of diode 82 to the common connected collector of transistor 54 and base of transistor 56. The common con ground 60 through resistor 86. A capacitor 84 couples the nected collector of transistor 54 and base of transistor 56 is 5 ,703,678 6 5 The collector terminal of transistor 174 is coupled through capacitor 170 to the input of the invertor 168 coupled to the Q output of ?ip-?op 158. Transistor 174 has its based coupled to circuit ground through resistor 176 and receives coupled through a voltage divider network comprising resis tor 88 and resistor 90 to circuit ground. A resistor 92 coupled between resistor 88 and resistor 90 provides a REF signal on line 94 for application to the precision timing section 34 a HOLD OFF signal on node 178 received from the CPU section 28. The ?ip-?op 158 receives an input to its CLK terminal on (shown in FIG. 1). With reference additionally now to FIG. 3. the laser receive section 22 is shown in more detail. The output signals of the laser receive section 22 are the signals RX(OU'I‘+) and Vmmhoh, provided on (FIGS. 4. 8) and respectively for application to the precision timing section line 94 comprising the REF output signal from the laser transmit section 18 (shown in FIG. 1). Its data (“D") input is coupled to a source of +5 volts and the Q1 output of the 10 shift register 160 is provided to the active low set (“S’”) input 34 and automatic noise threshold section 36 as previously as shown. The Q output of ?ip-?op 158 is supplied as one input to a transmit gate 204 having its other input coupled to the output of an invertor comprising an additional NAND Schmitt trigger 202. Inverter 202 has one input connected to a source of +5 volts and another input connected to the Q shown in FIG. 1. A source of 50 volts providing a receive (“RX”) BIAS signal is input to the laser receive section 22 from the HV power supply unit 16 on supply line 104. Alow pass ?lter network 106 comprising resistors 108 and 112 in conjunction with capacitors 110 and 114 couples the supply output of ?ip-?op 162. Flip-?op 162 has its S input coupled line 104 to circuit ground 60 to provide a bias signal to the cathode of the laser receiving diode 24. The laser receiving diode 24 has its anode connected to the base of transistor 118 which. in conjunction with transistors 120. 122. and 124 to the Q7 output of shift register 160 and its D input connected to the output of invertor 168. The Q output of 20 comprises a transimpedance ampli?er 116 providing an output on node 126 which is capacitively coupled to the “+" input of a precision comparator 134. A source of +5 volts is input to the laser receive section 22 from the main power supply unit 12 (shown in FIG. 1) for input to the transim ?ip-?op 162 is supplied on line 184 to comprise a [RX DEFECT signal for input to the CPU section 28 (shown in FIG. 1). The ?ip-?op 162 has its CLK input connected to line 100 for receiving the RX(OUT+) signal from the laser receive section 22 (shown in FIG. 1) which is also supplied 25 pedance ampli?er 116 through a low pass ?lter comprising resistor 130 and capacitor 132. The +5 volt RX supply voltage is also coupled to the V+ input of the precision comparator 134 through resistor 136 and is coupled to circuit ground through capacitor 138. The “+” input of the precision comparator 134 is connected between the plus 5 volt RX voltage source and circuit ground 60 through the as one input to NAND Schmitt trigger 180. The other input of NAND Schmitt trigger 180 is connected to line 184 through resistor 182 and coupled to circuit ground through capacitor 186. The output of Schmitt trigger 180 is supplied to the base electrode of transistor 200 which has its collector 30 analog-to-digital (“AID”) POWER CORRECTION signal is supplied to the emitter terminal of transistor 200 through resistor 198 as well as to the collector terminal of transistor node intermediate resistor 142 and resistor 144. The precision comparator 134 which may. in a preferred embodiment. comprise a MAX 913 low power precision terminal coupled to circuit ground. Line 196. comprising an 190 which is coupled to circuit ground through capacitor 35 transistor-transistor logic (“TI'L”) comparator available from Maxim Integrated Products. Inc.. Sunnyvale. Calif.. has its “V—”. “LE” and ground (“GND") inputs connected to 194. The [RESET signal on line 156 is supplied to the base terminal of transistor 190 through resistor 188. A source of +5 volts is connected to the emitter of transistor 190 as well as through resistor 192 to the base of transistor 190 to provide an operating bias. circuit ground 60 as shown. A capacitor 146 couples the “—" Referring additionally now to FIG. 5. the remaining output of the precision comparator 134 to circuit ground 60 portion of the precision timing section 34 (shown in block as shown. The “0+” output of the precision comparator 134 is supplied through a resistor 148 to line 100 to provide the form in FIG. 1) is illustrated. The HOLD OFF signal output from CPU section 28 to the precision timing section 34 is supplied on line 258 through resistor 256 to node 178 for input to the base of transistor 174 (shown in FIG. 4). The output of transmit gate 204 appearing on node 206 is supplied through resistor 208 to the base terminal of tran sistor 210. A source of +5 volts is supplied to the emitter terminal of transistor 210 through the series connection of resistor 216 and resistor 222. The node intermediate resistors RX(OUT+) signal while the “—” output of the precision comparator 134 is supplied through resistor 150 to line 102 45 to provide the Vmmhou signal. With reference additionally now to FIG. 4. a portion of the precision timing section 34 (shown in FIG. 1) is illustrated A CPU clock (“CLK”) signal is input to the precision timing section 34 on line 152 to the CLK input of a serial in/parallel out shift register 160 from the oscillator 30 as previously shown in FIG. 1. An additional input to the shift register 160 is received on line 154 comprising a NORM/CAL signal from the CPU section 28 to the data set B (“DSB”) input 50 thereof. The active low clear (“Cm”) input and DSA input 55 as will be more fully described hereinafter. The source of +5 216 and 222 is coupled to circuit ground through the parallel combination of capacitors 218 and 222 as well as to the output of comparator 236 through resistor 246 to provide a TIMER signal on line 250 for input to the CPU section 28 are held high as shown. volts is also connected to the base terminal of transistor 210 An additional input to the precision timing section 34 is received from the CPU section 28 (shown in FIG. 1) on line 156 comprising a [RESET signal for input to the reset (“ through the series connection of resistors 216 and 224. AV1 R”) inputs of D type ?ip-?op 158 and ?ip-?op 162. The Q output of ?ip-?op 158 is supplied as one input to an invertor comprising a portion of a NAND Schmitt trigger 168 through a low pass ?lter comprising resistor 164 and capaci tor 166 as shown. The remaining input to the invertor 168 is node 228 at the common connected base of transistor 212 and emitter of transistor 214 is coupled through a source of +5 volts through resistor 216 and resistor 226. Node 228 is connected through resistor 230 to V2 node 232 which. in turn. is connected to circuit ground through resistor 240. A capacitor 238 couples V1 node 228 to circuit ground. V2 node 232 is connected to the “—" input of comparator 236. 65 V1 node 228 is connected to line 254 from the CPU section connected to a source of +5 volts. 28 (shown in FIG. 1) to receive the CAL DITIIER signal Aresistor 172 couples a source of +5 volts to the collector of transistor 174 having its emitter coupled to circuit ground. through resistor 252. 5,703,678 7 8 The collector terminal of transistor 210 is coupled to the (shown in FIG. 3), it triggers the ?ip-?op 162 at its CLK input. Flip-?op 162 has its Q output coupled to the input of collector terminals of transistors 212 and 214 as well as to the “+” terminal of comparator 236 which. in turn. is invertor 202 which then shuts the transmit gate 204 off. stopping the current pulse. At this point. a constant current gonu%led to circuit ground through capacitor 244. A R ICLAMP signal output from the CPU section 28 (shown in FIG. 1) is furnished on line 260 through resistor 248 for input to the base terminal of transistor 214. With reference additionally now to FIG. 6. the CPU section 28 is shown in greater detail. The CPU section 28 comprises. in pertinent part. a microcomputer 270 which may. in a preferred embodiment. comprise a ST6240 device. An 8 megahertz ("MHz") crystal 274 forms a portion of the oscillator 30 for providing an oscillator (“OSCIN") and oscillator out (“OSCOUT”) signal to the microcomputer 27 0 sink discharges capacitor 244. In this manner. capacitor 244 is charged up with a relatively large current (on the order of 10 milliamps). and later discharged with a small current (on the order of 10 microamps) applied over the entire ?ight time of the laser pulse from its ?ring from the laser emitting diode 20 to its re?ection from a target back to the laser receiving diode 24. Because the laser range ?nder 10 is intended for a shorter maximum range than other laser based range ?nding instruments. the use of this technique does not require a separate counting oscillator followed by an inter as well as supplying a CPU CLK signal on line 152 for input polation operation and the entire ?ight time is essentially to the precision timing section 34 as previously described. The VDD input of microcomputer 270 is coupled to a source of +5 volts and the [RESET input thereof is held high through pull up resistor 276 which is coupled to circuit ground through capacitor 278. Output from the microcom puter 270 is taken on a display bus 280 comprising the communication (“COM”) lines COM 1-COM 4 and 20 stretched by a factor of 1000 and then the stretched result is counted. By charging capacitor 244 at a fast rate and then discharging it and then monitoring the time it takes to discharge. the ?ight time is expanded so that the slower clock in the CPU section 28 can then count it accurately. The microcomputer 270 utilized in the CPU secn'on 28 has a 1.5 microsecond resolution and. because the incoming ?ight 816-828 lines for input to the LCD display 32. AnA/D LOW BATTERY signal. aTRIGGER signal. and time has been expanded by a factor of 1.000 on the input side to the precision timing section 34. it is the equivalent of a 1.5 a POWER CONTROL signal are input to the microcomputer 270 on lines 284. 286. and 288 respectively. The A/D LOW nanosecond resolution. which corresponds to a measurement resolution for the laser range ?nder 10 of on the order of nine BAITERY signal on line 284 is also supplied to the “—” inches. Therefore. given that the laser range ?nder 10 is input of comparator 296 which is coupled to circuit ground through capacitor 304. The “+” input of comparator 296 is resolution. su?icient resolution is provided to be able to coupled to a source of +5 volts through resistor 298 which measure distances up to a thousand yards to a one-yard is also coupled to circuit ground through the parallel com bination of resistor 300 and capacitor 302. The output of comparator 296 appearing on line 306 provides a SHUT accuracy. The precision timing section 34 of the laser range ?nder 10 has three distinct modes of operation including a zero calibration. ?xed pulse width calibration and laser measure intended to be a one-yard instrument with a nine-inch DOWN signal for the laser range ?nder 10 in the event the onboard battery voltage drops below a predetermined limit. The microcomputer 270 supplies the HOLD OFF signal 35 ment function as will be more fully described hereinafter. The portion of the precision timing section 34 comprising transistors 210. 214. and 212 (shown in FIG. 5) is the essence of the integrating ?ight time expander. Transistor on line 258. the RUN/CLAMP signal on line 260. the CAL DITHER signal on line 254. the /RESET signal on line 156 and the NORM/CAL signal on line 154 for input to the 210 functions as a current switch which is turned on for the precision timing section 34 as has been previously described. The microcomputer 270 receives as outputs from the precision timing section 34 the IRX DETECI‘ signal on duration of the laser ?ight time in the laser mode of operation and is also turned on for the duration of whatever calibration pulse is placed into it during the calibrate mode. line 184 and the TIMER signal on line 250. Additional In the latter instance. a calibration pulse is supplied by the inputs to the microcomputer 270 are the /F[RE signal on line shift register 160 via ?ip-?op 158 and the start and end of the 80 from the laser transmit section 18 (shown in FIG. 1) as 45 calibration pulse is gated via transmit gate 204 to actually well as the A/D POWER CORRECTION signal on line 196 turn the transistor 210 on and off in order to function as a from the precision timing section 34 (as shown in FIG. 4). current source. typically sourcing 10 milliamps of current. It A MODE input signal on line 294 is received from the mode should be noted that prior to turning transistor 210 on. switch 126 which is otherwise held to a +5 volts through transistor 214 must ?rst be turned off and. when the system resistor 292. Microcomputer 270 supplies an NSETl and is in the reset state ready to start the whole measurement NSET2 signal on lines 308 and 310 respectively as well a sequence. transistor 210 is off. Transistor 212. which is the REFLECTION MODE signal on line 312 for input to the current sink in the system. is always on. and typically sinks automatic noise threshold section 36 (as shown in FIG. 1). on the order of 10 rnicroamps of current. In the reset In overall operation. a reference signal (REF) on line 94 condition. transistor 214 is on. and that clamps the voltage is generated by the laser transmit section 18 (shown in FIG. 55 at the top plate of capacitor 244 to a voltage level designated 2) when the laser range ?nder 10 is ?red by placing a current pulse through the laser emitting diode 20 in response to manual actuation of the trigger switch 14. The REF signal on line 94 is derived from the current placed through the laser emitting diode 20 and not from the light pulse itself and is as V1 at node 228. A voltage V2 is de?ned as the voltage at node 232 at the “—” input of comparator 236. It should also be noted that a metal oxide semiconductor ?eld effect su?iciently precise for accurately indicating the time of the laser ?ring. The REF signal is ultimately input to the CLK input terminal of ?ip-?op 158. which has its Q output device shown. However. due to the lower cost of bipolar transistor (“MOSFET") may be utilized for transistor 210 and would exhibit a much lower offset than the bipolar transistors and the fact that any offset cancels during the coupled to the transmit gate 204. which then turns on the processing of the signal. a bipolar transistor is entirely adequate for this purpose. current switch comprising transistor 210. and starts charging the capacitor 244. When the receive pulse (RX(OUT+) on plate of capacitor 244 is clamped to voltage V1. plus a fixed line 100 comes back from the laser receive section 22 offset due to the transistor 210. which is small and typically When transistor 214 is on. the voltage on the positive 5 ,703.678 9 on the order of 50 millivolts. During the zero calibration function. transistor 214 is turned on by holding the RUN/CLAMP signal on line 260 high. thereby applying a positive current to its base through resistor 248. To initiate the zero calibration. the TIMER signal on line 250 is asserted and supplied to the microcomputer 270 of the CPU section 28. Utilizing the ST6240 unit shown in FIG. 6. when the microcomputer TIMER pin is held high. the device is counting. Conversely. the microcomputer stops counting when the pin is allowed to go low. In operation. the output comparator 236. determines whether or not the voltage at the top plate of capacitor 244 is greater or less than V2. and its output determines whether the TIMER pin on the micro 10 tion enhancement. Due to the fact that the actual laser ?ight time varies due to noise in the laser pulses and variability in target aiming. there is generally enough scatter in the measured laser ?ight time such that it covers more than one clock boundary and so will automatically average to a higher resolution through the use of the precision timing section 34 without invoking the CAL/DITHER function in the laser mode of operation. With reference additionally now to FIGS. 7A. TB and 7C. the operation of the precision timing section 34 is shown in the zero calibration. ?xed pulse width calibration and laser measurement function modes of operation respectively. In its normal state. the voltage on the top plate of capacitor 244 is clamped at V1. and at a time To. the precision timing section 34 will initiate the TIMER by changing the output state of comparator 236 to the logic high state. After a very short ?xed number of instructions later shown as T1. the clamp transistor 214 will be turned off and the voltage on computer 270 is high or low. In the normal reset condition. the output of the comparator 236 is high. which means the timer is active. In sequence. the microcomputer 270 initiates the TlMER function and then turns off transistor 214 by lowering the control signal m/CLAMP on line 260. to capacitor 244 will begin discharging slowly until that volt unclamp capacitor 244. Capacitor 244 then starts discharg 270 of the CPU section 28 now has a count value that relates age crosses V2 at time T3 when the output of comparator 236 will change state. In essence. during the zero calibration process. transistor 210 is never turned on thereby determin ing the timing conditions of what would e?’ectively be a zero ?ight time. Therefore. if there is no charge current applied to capacitor 244. T3--To zero is the time that would be in the microcomputer 270 and the timer in whatever units they operate. which is usually dependent on the CPU section 28 to the amount of time it takes for capacitor 244 to discharge from V1 down to V2. This process is repeated several times and the result is averaged. Typically ten iterations may be performed with the results accumulated and an average time puter 270 utilizes an 8 MHz crystal and the internal timer has a 1.5 microsecond resolution resulting in a count of about 150. ing towards zero due to the current being drained out of it via transistor 212 at a rate of about ten microamps. When it has discharge such that the charge removed drops the voltage V1 at node 228 to the level of V2. the output of the comparator 236 changes state to stop the TIMER function. (In the particular embodiment shown. V1 is typically on the order of 1.0 volts and V2 is about 0.9 volts.) The microcomputer crystal frequency. In the embodiment shown. the microcom During the ?xed pulse width calibration process (shown particularly in FIG. TB) at time T4. once again the micro computed. As shown particularly with respect to FIG. 5. the CAL DI'I‘HER signal on line 254 is applied to the base terminal of transistor 212 and is utilized during both the zero cali bration and ?xed pulse width calibration times and incor porates a relatively high value resistor 252. The CAL DITHEK signal allows for the introduction of a deliberately controlled change in the discharge current in order that the resultant count will vary slightly such that when the total counts are averaged together. a ?ner resolution is produced than would be the case merely using a ?xed current to get the computer 270 stops the TIMER and a short time later at T5 it releases the clamp. At T6. a known pulse width is applied to the base terminal of transistor 210 which is pecisely derived from the main oscillator 30 as applied to the CLK input of the shift register 160. The signal applied to the CLK input of the shift register 160 directly tracks the main oscillator 30 and the serial data input to the shift register 160 is a logic line 154 from the CPU section 28 designated same count value. An adjustment of one part in about a NORM/CAL. When the NORM/CAL signal is high. the precision timing section 34 is in its normal mode of opera thousand is provided during the zero calibration and ?xed pulse width calibration modes because the ?nite resolution of the microcomputer 270 timer otherwise provides discreet width calibration function is initiated. Thereafter. typically about ?fty microseconds later. at time T6 the NORM/CAL tion and. when it drops to a logic low state. the ?xed pulse 50 signal on line 154 will be dropped low. It should be noted that during both the zero and the ?xed pulse width calibra tion modes. the logic reset signal [RESET on line 156 is held low. its active state. In the logic low state the two ?ip-?ops 158. 162 determine whether the input signal comes from shift register 160 which generates the ?xed pulse width or whether it comes from the REF and RX(OUT+) signals an relates to an actual laser ?ight time. The [RESET signal is 55 generally held low at all times din-ing the ?xed pulse width timing intervals of 1.5 nanoseconds which would only provide distance measurement resolution of approximately one yard. In operation. the zero calibration count in the microcomputer 270 will typically be about 150 while in the ?xed pulse width calibration mode it will be on the order of 900. The ?ight time count during the laser mode of operation can be anything from close to the zero calibration value to about 4500. For example. during the zero calibration mode. the count value in the microcomputer 270 might be 150 but there is no way of knowing just how close the count actually is to 149 to 151. By utilizing the CAL DITHER signal to force the count over a couple of count boundaries (for example: 150. 150. 150. 151. 151. 152) the resolution of the counter may be effectively raised by a factor of two without having to utilize additional ?ne counters. In the embodiment shown. the resultant resolution is su?icient to maintain calibration to plus or minus one yard over a range of one thousand yards or less. Although implementations may vary. the CAL DlTI-IER signal may be held high for ?ve out of ten pulses and low for the remainder to provide the foregoing resolu calibration process so that any noise on the RX(OUT+) receive line 100 will not accidently clock ?ip-?op 162 and therefore trigger the precision timing section 34 resulting in an indeterminate time period measurement invalidating the calibration. The reset state for the Q outputs of ?ip-?ops 158. 162 is low but is high for the Q outputs. Therefore. the Q outputs can not be directly driven with the reset circuit and must be driven off the Q outputs in both cases which introduces a small ?xed olfset delay which must be 65 accounted for later. As soon as the NORM/CAL signal on line 154 is dropped low. which occurs approximately 50 microseconds after the clamp has been released. the low 5,703,678 11 12 signal propagates through the shift register 160 precisely is released. There is normally a ?fty microsecond wait and then the laser pulse is ?red when the microcomputer 270 \ asserts the [FIRE signal on line 80 to initiate the ?ring with the main oscillator 30 clock. The Q0 output of the shift register 160 is the ?rst to be triggered but is not used because it is used to synchronize with the incoming signal. The Q1 sequence. Upon ?ring the laser emitting diode 20. the laser is then the ?rst output of the shift register 160 to be utilized and on every positive edge of the clock the zero signal that is applied into the serial input will propagate one state of the shift register 160 from Q zero to Q7. Therefore. the Q1 transmit section sends the REF signal on line 94 to the CLK input of ?ip-?op 158 of the precision timing section 34. This opens the transmit gate 204 which turns on the current source transistor 210. which. in turn. charges capacitor 244 output will go low ?rst. and as soon as that output goes low. the set line input § forces the Q output of ?ip-?op 158 to go high since the Q output of ?ip-?op 162 is in the low state. at a known rate. 10 As a result. logic level ones appear at the two inputs of the transmit gate 204. which turns on the current switch n'an sistor 210. Exactly six clocks later. the same thing happens with ?ip-?op 162 which has its § input coupled to the Q7 output of the shift register 160. As the Q output of ?ip-?op 162 goes high. the output of the invertor 202 goes low. and the transmit gate 204 will be turned otf. At this point the count pulse will stop meaning that the ?xed width pulse feeding the current switching circuit at the output of the transmit gate 204 is precisely six clock cycles. The time dijference between the Q1 and Q7 outputs of the shift register 160 is exactly 750 nanoseconds when utilizing an 8 MHz oscillator 30 applied to its CLK input. The invertor 202 When the re?ected laser pulse is detected by the laser receiving diode 24 of the laser receive section 22 (shown in FIG. 3). the RX(OUT+) signal on line 100 is directed to the CLK input of ?ip-?op 162. The Q output signal of ?ip-?op 15 20 162 is inverted by invertor 202 which turns otf the trans mission gate 204 so that the current source transistor 210 is on for the ?ight n'me duration of the laser pulse to charge capacitor 244 to a level determined by the timer during that ?ight time. The charge applied to the capacitor 244 may be anything from just a few millivolts (essentially zero distance and ?ight time) to up to two volts (maximum range and ?ight distance) depending on the distance to the target. Time Tl2 represents the ?ring of the laser as indicated by the REF signal and T13 represents the receipt of the re?ected laser signal as indicated by the RX(OUT+) signal. Transistor 210 adds an additional delay of about 10 nanoseconds for a total 25 is turned on at T12 and turned off at T13. As a consequence, of delay of about 760 nanoseconds which varies only slightly with temperature. perhaps one or two nanoseconds. yet still provides su?icient precision for measurements of less than one yard resolution. Transistor 210 is then turned on for a period of time V1 will equal V2 at anytime between T1“ (minimum distance when T12 and T13 are essentially coincident) and T1,", (maximum range of the laser range ?nder 10). Times T1M through T14, represent the range of times (depending 30 between T6 and T-, to enable the capacitor 244 to charge very discharged below the level of V2 and the comparator 236 output changes state stopping the timer. rapidly and then discharge at the same rate as has been previously shown with respect to FIG. 7A. As V1 reaches the level of V2 the TIMER signal goes low at Time T8. The ?fty microsecond delay between the unclarnping at T5 and T6 is to allow the clamp transistor 214 to turn 011‘ fully since it is a relatively inexpensive bipolar device. If a MOSFET were used instead. its turn o? would be virtually instanta The actual laser ?ight time LASERHME (or PLIGHTHME) then equals T,“ (or T143) minus T1o minus ZEROHME or. 35 ZEROHME equals T3 minus T‘J and the value of CALHME to its linearity. The only factors in the near zero range are the time it takes transistor 210 to turn on. the propagation time of the laser beam and the various circuit gates. but since the time for each of these factors is the same during calibration as during ?ight time. they essentially cancel out. The pre cision timing section 34 can be eifectively utilized down to 45 on the order of ten nanoseconds and still remain perfectly linear. RANGE to a target is then a constant. “k” times the quantity FLIGHTT,ME—ZEROTIME over CALUME value equals the time due to the CALnME value not due to the ZEROHME value. which is. T8 minus T4 minus the ZEROHME value or. T8 minus T3. T14 minus T133. The time T8 has to be greater than T3. and T14 is greater than or equal to T3. There is no theoretical limit on the lower range of the laser range ?nder 10 and ?ight time (and distance) can be measured down to zero due neous and the additional delay it introduced would not be a problem because the microcomputer 270 couldn’t issue the next instruction quickly enough. Utilizing a bipolar device. approximately 20 microseconds are required for the dis charge to become linear and the slope of the discharge curve between T., and T8 is then identical to the slope from T1 to T3 in the zero calibration mode except for the step due to the charging of capacitor M4. As a consequence. the value of on the distance to the target) when the value of V1 is ZEROHME. For each of the values: ZEROnME. CALTWE and 50 disregarded and the value of CALHME is known. Therefore. FLIGH'I‘TIME values are accumulated and are expressed in time units that derive from the very accurate crystal oscil lator 30. Typically. ten pulses may be utilized to establish the with the zero calibration function and the addition of a ZEROHME average. ten pulses to establish the CALWME In essence then. very small ?ight times are effectively lmown calibrated pulse width. the time delay at zero is lmown together with the time delay for the known pulse average and ten pulses to establish the minimum precision (or rough) FLIGHTHME range to the target. Another group of ten through thirty laser pulse FLIGHTnMEs may be also width providing the origin and scale for determining dis tance with a constant linear discharge of capacitor 244. averaged in order to obtain a higher precision distance to a With particular reference additionally to FIG. 7C. the operation of the precision timing section 34 is shown in the target as indicated by a “precision ?ag” which may be displayed on the LCD display 32 within the laser range ?nder l0 eyepiece. Nevertheless. the actual values derived in these time expansions will. of course. vary with time. temperature and aging and a?’ects the gain of the transistors. laser measurement mode of operation. The laser measure ment operation is essentially the same as the ?xed pulse width calibration mode except that the NORMAIJCAL signal on line 154 to the shift register 160 is held high and the IRESEI‘ signal on line 156 is taken high at time T9 to enable the ?ip-?ops 158. 162 to trigger. At time Tl0 the timer is started and at T1 1. (at precisely the same relationship T11 minus Tlo equals T5 minus T4 equals 'l‘1 minus To) the clamp the leakages. as well as the value of the resistances and 65 capacitances. Initially the exact values of these effects are completely unknown but. through the use of the zero and calibration functions above-described. the zero problem has been eliminated. and a crystal reference calibration has been 5 ,703.678 14 13 supplying the Vmhou signal to the laser receive section 22 (shown in FIG. 1). Line 102 is connected through resistor provided for the entire ?ight time without having to resort to a complicated counter circuitry. 330 to the center tap of potentiometer 332 which has one terminal thereof connected to a source of +5 volts through resistor 334 and another terminal thereof coupled to circuit Another aspect of the precision timing section 34 is the automatic set noise control and invertor 168 provides. in conjunction with other circuit elements. a hardware hold off function. Upon ?ring of the laser and receipt of the reference signal REF on line 94 at the CLK input of ?ip-?op 158. a certain time must elapse. as determined by the time constant of resistor 164 and capacitor 166. before the D input goes high. Until that time. all noise pulses and/or early laser ground through resistor 336. Lines 308 and 310 from the microcomputer 270 (shown in FIG. 6) are connected through resistors 338 and 340 respectively to line 102. Additionally. line 312 from micro computer 270 is connected to line 102 through resistor 342 10 pulses on the clock line are ignored. The purpose for this function is that. when the laser ?res. it generates unintended as shown. In operation. the automatic noise threshold section 36 in conjunction with the CPU section 28 (shown in FIG. 6) ground bounce and noise that may prematurely trigger the receive ?ip-?op 162 rather than the real laser return signal (RX(OUT+). For that reason. a hold off period is provided corresponding to the minimum range of the laser range provides a simply implemented yet highly effective thresh old adjustment to the laser receive section 22 (shown in FIG. 3) As shown in FIG. 3. the laser receiving diode 24 utilizes a high-voltage source (of about 50 volts) supplied via a noise ?ltering network, comprising low pass ?lter network 106. to bias it. The diode 24 responds with an output current proportional to the incoming laser light which is generally a short duration laser pulse producing a short current pulse which is ampli?ed by transistors 118, 120. 122.124. com prising the active circuit elements of a transimpedance ?nder 10 and. as an example. considering a minimum range of about twenty yards. the holdo? time is approximately 60 nanoseconds. With a lower sensitivity laser range ?nda 10 utilized at shorter ranges the function can be eliminated and 20 it is clearly most useful with a high sensitivity receiver where the noise from the ?ring circuit determines an e?ec tive minimum range. ampli?er 116. The transimpedance ampli?er 116 produces Transistor 174 provides an additional function and allows the microcomputer 270 to extend the hold otf range by asserting the HOLD OFF signal on line 258. In this manner. an output voltage pulse proportional to the incoming laser pulse impinging on the laser receiving diode 2A. The output the minimum range of the laser range ?nder 10 may be of the transimpedance ampli?er 116 is capacitively coupled extended out to. for example. sixty or eighty yards. whatever is the desirable setting. This microcomputer 270 hold 011’ function may be implemented by the mode switch 126 and to the “+” input of comparator 134. which is a high speed comparator. When the laser pulse input to the “+" input would allow shooting through branches. twigs. precipitation threshold pin. a positive output pulse is produced. or other partial obstructions. By extending the hold o? range out beyond such partial obstructions. there is insu?icient back scatter from the obstructions to trigger the precision timing section 34 and the measurement will be made to the desired target instead of the intervening obstructions. This is accomplished by not allowing ?ip-?op 162 to trigger until a set timer period has elapsed. Transistor 174 is the switching crosses a threshold determined by the voltage on the “-" To maximize performance. the threshold of the compara tor 134 has to be set for maximum sensitivity in order detect 35 device utilized to allow setting of an extension to the hold 011‘ range and gate 180 is used to determine the receive pulse width in conjunction with the discharge rate of capacitor old as less than an ideal solution. 194. This allows the microcomputer 270. which has a built in analog-to-digital (“ The automatic noise threshold section 36 of FIG. 8 ”) convertor. to determine the residual voltage on capacitor 194 and therefore derive a measure of the pulse width. (which is a measure of the return signal power) and thus use an internal lookup table to correct for that power variation and get a higher range accuracy. When the logic reset signal IRESET on line 156 is low, transistor 190 clamps capacitor 194 to the +5 volt rail. During the laser measurement routine. the transistor 190 is turned o?. When a pulse subsequently arrives. that bit turns on transistor 200 and the voltage in capacitor 194 will be discharged via resistor 198 for the duration of that pulse. The charge on capacitor 194 is then digitized by the processor to determine the e?ect of incoming power. discloses a circuit that automatically sets a threshold such 45 detector comprising resistor 314. diode 316. capacitor 324 and resistor 322. In operation. when the threshold pin of the comparator 134 (FIG. 3) is at a considerably higher voltage due to the inherent ampli?er and optically generated noise. As the voltages on the threshold and input pins are brought closer together. noise pulses will appear at the output and. when the voltage levels are nearly coincident. a great deal of noise can be seen. In essence then, the automatic noise 55 threshold section 36 sets the noise pulse rate at that point at which. given the right ?rmware algorithm. one can still acquire the target and not be blinded by the noise. The higher the noise that can be tolerated. and the closer the voltage levels at the threshold and input pins of the comparator 134. the RX(OUT+) signal from the laser receive section 22 (shown in FIG. 1) on line 100 for input thereto through the weaker the laser pulse that can be detected. The auto resistor 314. Resistor 314 is connected to the anode of diode 316 which has its cathode connected to the “+" input of operational ampli?er (“OpAmp") 318 forming a \!3 node thereof as well as to line 102 through resister 326 for that a constant noise pulse ?ring rate is output from the than the input pin. no noise pulses will appear at the output 50 With reference additionally now to FIG. 8. the automatic noise threshold section 36 of the laser range ?nder 10 is shown. The automatic noise threshold section 36 receives 320. V3 node 320 is coupled to circuit ground through the parallel combination of resistor 322 and capacitor 324. The output of OpAmp 318 is coupled back to the “—" input the weakest possible laser pulse to get the maximum per formance out of the laser range ?nder 10. Conventional approaches include using digital controls or a potentiometer to adjust the threshold. However. these approaches have the down side that over time and temperature changes the gain of the receiver will change with the background noise generated by the background light rendering a ?xed thresh 65 matic noise threshold section 36 automatically adjusts that threshold level to maintain constant noise pulse ?ring rate. As shown in FIG. 8. this is accomplished by monitoring the digital logic receive signal RX(OUT+) on line 100 that goes to the receive ?ip-?op 162 (shown in FIG. 4). The detector monitors line 100 for the presence of noise pulses via a detector comprising the aforementioned resistor 314. 5,703,678 15 16 diode 316. capacitor 324 and resistor 322. The value of resistor 32 is typically considerably greater than that of 314. on the order of a 150:1 ratio. The peak amplitude of the noise pulses is typically at or near the logic threshold. except for very narrow pulses where the comparator will not reach very large change in the noise ?ring rate. typically. a ten millivolt change in Vmmhou will change the voltage V3 at node 320 by about a volt. What is produced then. is a fairly high gain feedback loop. such that “mm,” will track very closely the noise ?ring rate and V3 will stabilize very full amplitude. however. the width of these pulses is going to vary randomly because it depends on the noise signal that is being detected. Moreover, the spacing of the noise pulses accurately and rapidly. This further provides the capability to adjust the noise ?ring rate by controlling the bias and forcing V3 to compensate. The voltage V3 at node 320 then represents the noise ?ring rate. will also vary at a random rate. but. for any given threshold setting. there will be a ?xed average rate. The average rate is dependent on the threshold. Therefore. during the time the NSEI‘I line 308 and NSETZ line 310. are two control lines from the microcomputer 28 such that when held low or high. adjusts the noise rate to obtain the maximum range to pulse is high. capacitor 324 charges via resistor 314 and diode 316 at a rate determined by the high on the logic pulse. resistor 314 and whatever voltage is still existing on capaci tor 324. Initially. capacitor 324 is charged as follows. Once the noise pulse terminates, the logic line goes back to zero. There is a residual voltage on capacitor 324. diode 316 will be reverse biased. and the discharge path is now via resistor 322. (As previously described. the value for resistor 322 is chosen to provide a relatively longer time constant. a factor of 150.) When another pulse comes in. capacitor 324 will charge a bit more. What will then happen is. quite rapidly. (i.e. within a few milliseconds) the voltage across capacitor 15 diiferent re?ectivity targets. If both lines 308 and 310 are taken high. V3 will drop to compensate to maintain a constant threshold noise. Similarly. potentiometer 332 pro vides an adjustment such that the threshold point may be set together with the level of V3. Typically. the V3 point might 20 be set equal to: 0.5. 1.0. 1.5 and 2.0 volts as desirable choices for the average noise ?ring rates. As such. since resistor 338 is approximately twice the value of resistor 340. four voltage combinations are obtained roughly equally spaced in voltage by half a volt. Potentiometer 332 is used to set the ?rst voltage level to 0.5 or the last one to 2.0 while the intervals are determined by the logic control lines 308 and 310 set 324 stabilizes at a rate that is proportional to the average 25 NSE'I‘1 and NSEF2. Obviously. this approach could be ?ring rate. The reason for having a large ratio between extended. four combinations provides adequate resolution in resistor 314 and resistor 322 is because the noise pulses typically may average 50 nanoseconds wide. and the aver aged time between them to maximize the sensitivity of the laser range ?nder 10 should be of the order of two micro 30 seconds or so. As an example. if a 50% voltage were desired. and the high state was occurring for 50 nanoseconds while the low state average was occun'ing for one microsecond. a logic high and low signals on the lines 308 and 310. Resistor 20:1 ratio would be produced. Nevertheless, the optimum ratio has been determined empirically to be about 150:1 as 35 previously described and is related to average pulse widths (typically on the order of 30 nanoseconds in length) and pulse repetition rates (on the order of 4 microseconds) with a typical voltage level of 1.5 volts. Op amp 318 is con?gured as a unity gain bu?’er. although it need not be unity gain. with a voltage V3 at its “+” input pin on node 320. The input is high impedance and the output is low impedance in order to drive external circuitry. The voltage that is derived at the output of the op amp 318 is then fed into a resistor network comprising resistor 338. resistor 340. resistor 342 and resistor 330. A summing node of the 45 resistor network on line 102 goes to the threshold control to provide the signal Vmmhou to the laser receive section 22 (shown in FIG. 3). Resistor 330 is connected to the center tap of a potentiometer 332 so that the DC voltage on the other end of resistor 330 can be controlled. In combination. the circuit comprises a feedback network such that. if there are no noise pulses. then V3 is zero and Vmmhou and drops to a low value. Initially. Vmmhou will be higher. and the “—” input of comparator 134 (shown in FIG. 3) will be higher than the “+” input. forcing a logic low on 50 330 is used just to set where this whole block resides while potentiometer 332 is used to establish the set point. Since the noise characteristics from unit to unit will vary somewhat. potentiometer 332 enables the setting of the initial device characteristics. Resistor 342 is of a considerably lower value than resis tors 338 and 340 and its value is chosen such that. when the REFLECTOR MODE signal on line 312 is asserted by being taken high. V3 will drop to zero and will stay there because it cannot go below zero. At this point. the feedback loop is saturated and is no longer effective. so Vmmhau no longer is stabilized. In operation. line 312 will be pulled high by a considerable voltage. on the order of 0.4 volts. such that it completely desensitizes the laser receive section 22 so the laser range ?nder 10 will then only respond to a retro re?ector. In this mode of operation the receiver is detuned and its non-cooperative range drops from 500 yards down to about 30 or 40 yards. such that the laser range ?nder 10 only latches onto a retro re?ector or survey prism comprising a high grade re?ector that returns the laser energy back to the source. Possible applications also include determining the 55 the output as the starting state. As the level of V3 on node 320 falls. the voltage level on the “-” pin of comparator 134 starts approaching the level of the signal from the transim pedance ampli?er 116 on the positive “+". When it approaches the noise zone. noise pulses start appearing. As soon as noise pulses start appearing. a charge appears on node 320. so V3 stops to charge up. and when the two match. that's the feedback point. and it stops. Basically. the voltage on the threshold is set at such a point that the noise ?ring rate 65 maintains V3 at that voltage which is necessary to maintain Vmmwd. Because very small changes in Vmmhold make a the particular implementation of the laser range ?nder 10 described and shown. When both lines 308 and 310 are high. there is a current injected into the node comprising the Vmmhou line 102. and to compensate for that. V3 must drop. so less current ?ows through resistor 326 and vice versa. V3 will follow these values. depending on the permutations of distance to a particular golf hole where a laser re?ector is attached to the pin and the signal might otherwise be actually returned from trees behind or in front of the green in a more sensitive mode of operation. The essence of the automatic noise threshold section 36 is. as previously described. a feedback loop comprising the detected average noise ?ring rate forming a feedback loop that controls the threshold. Use of this circuit has resulted in an addition of almost 50% to the range of the laser range ?nder 10 compared to attempting to manually set the thresh old. By setting the noise ?ring rate. noise pulses are being produced deliberately. all the time and the only way you to take advantage of that fact is by implementing a ?rmware 5,703,678 18 17 probability of a noise pulse appearing over a longer ?ight algorithm in the microcomputer 270 that allows you to discriminate between noise pulses and laser return pulses. What the algorithm does is. during the laser ?ring process. on the ?rst pulse that fires. it gets a laser pulse. and it places it in a stack of pulses. For example. the stack may have locations designated 0 through 9. to enable 10 pulses to be maintained in the stack. The values of the FLJGHTHME are saved. corrected for power return. (the microcomputer 270 determines the power level of the return signal and corrects the ?ight time for power return) and placed in one of the locations in the stack. Upon receipt of the next pulse. the microcomputer 270 will then compare the next pulse with the remaining locations in the stack. Initially. most of the range. and therefore a quick acquisition on a bright white target can be achieved. Thus. by depressing the mode switch 126. different modes of operation of the laser range ?nder 10 can be selected. As an example. one mode might be utilized to ?nd the range to re?ective road signs out to a distance of 1000 yards or more. Alternatively. aiming the laser range ?nder 10 at something like wet black tree bark. might reduce the maximum range to only 350-400 yards and so a different operational mode might be selected which would otherwise locations will be empty. and there will be no match. If no match is found. the microcomputer 270 puts the pulse in the stack and carries on. merely placing pulses in the stack. and then when it gets to the top. it goes back and overwrites the 15 base, so you have a history of N number of pulses in the stack. Any time a new pulse comes in. it compares the entire stack for a match. where N=l0. it searches the preceding ten pulses for a match. The reason for doing that is. since a high noise ?ring rate has been deliberately set to get maximum sensitivity. many noise pulses are going to have shown up. but the noise pulses will be of random occurrence and the chance of a precision require a relatively long time to hit the road sign. if ever. because there would always be a noise pulse in the way. The mode switch 126 allows the setting of these variables to maximize the range of the laser range ?nder 10. depending on the target quality and a visual indication of the target quality selected may be provided to the operator on the in-sight. LCD display 32 wherein the ?rst mode would correspond to the brightest target or most re?ective target. and the Nth mode would correspond to the least re?ective target. While there have been described above. the principles of the invention in conjunction with speci?c apparatus. it is to be clearly understood that the foregoing description is made 25 match is very low. Because the tolerance can be set as any other ?rmware parameter. a default value will be typically loaded that has been determined empirically. As an example. only by way of example and not as a limitation on the scope of the invention. What is claimed is: 1. A method for determining a range to a target based upon a ?ight time of a pulse toward said target. said method a tolerance of a few nanoseconds may be set for a match to be assumed to be a real target and not a noise pulse. Utilizing the algorithm. the process continues. trying to lock on the target until a match is achieved. The match need only be two 30 levels; ?rstly unclamping said second reference signal level to pulses within the preset tolerance (providing very acceptable results) or. if higher sensitivity were desired, a match of three through N may be speci?ed. depending on the reli ability needed to guarantee a real target and not a noise 35 pulse. In an exemplary operation. the ?rst pulse (pulse 0) could be the real target. followed by eight noise pulses, and as long as the ninth pulse is again the real target. the distance to the target can be accurately determined. The stack can be increased in size up to whatever memory limit is available in the system. depending on how far into the noise level the laser range ?nder 10 must work. Having found a match. the average of the match values may then be used to compare all subsequent pulses. rather than needing to place them in a stack and only pulses that match up with that initial match average will contribute to the measurement. If a certain number of pulses elapse before another matching pulse is received. it may be assumed that an accidental lock-on to noise has been achieved and the 50 process restarts. By adjusting the various parameters. a trade oil’ can be made between the time it takes to get a measure ment to how far into the noise the laser range ?nder 10 must work. Because the noise rate can set to whatever is desired by means of the automatic noise threshold section 36. it is 55 possible to optimize the algorithm to provide the optimum acquisition characteristics against time and against range. The higher the value of V3. the more noise is coming out of the receiver. and the more sensitive the laser receive section 22 is running. The probability of a noise pulse showing up is proportional to the ?ight time. so given a very “black” target. the maximum range will be less. but the maximum ?ight time is also less. so a higher noise rate can be tolerated. Therefore. running at a higher gain will provide the best range to a black target. On the other hand. if the 65 target is very re?ective. a high gain is not required. so the noise rate can be lowered. which then provides the same comprising the steps of: initially establishing ?rst and second reference signal allow said second reference signal level to approach. at a ?rst rate. said ?rst reference signal level; meastn-ing a ?rst reference time T1 from said step of ?rstly unclamping until said ?rst and second reference signal levels are equal; re-establishing said ?rst and second reference signal lev els; secondly unclamping said second reference signal level and ramping said second reference signal level. at a second rate. for a predetermined period of time to establish a third reference signal level; allowing said third reference signal level to approach. at said ?rst rate. to said ?rst reference signal level; secondly measuring a second reference time T2”, from said step of secondly unclamping until said ?rst and third reference signal levels are equal; again re-establishing said ?rst and second reference signal levels; thirdly unclamping said second reference signal level; again ramping said second reference signal level. at said second rate. for a period of time related to said ?ight time of said pulse to said target. to establish a fourth reference signal level; again allowing said fourth reference signal level to approach.‘ at said ?rst rate. said ?rst refm’ence signal level; thirdly measuring a third reference time T3,,Jr from said step of thirdly unclamping until said ?rst and fourth reference signal levels are equal; and computing said range to said target as proportional to (TSd-TIqWI‘LEI-TIMI). 2. The method of claim 1 wherein said steps of initially establishing. re-establishing and again re-establishing are 5,703,678 19 20 canied out by clamping a voltage on a capacitor at said means for computing said range to said target as propor second reference signal level. 3. The method of claim 2 wherein said steps of ?rstly. secondly and thirdly unclamping are carried out by means of 12. The system of claim 11 wherein said means for a transistor switch. 4. The method of claim 2 wherein said steps of allowing and again allowing are carried out by altering a charge from tional to (TSWPTIMQK'I‘ZJTIW). initially establishing. re-establishing and again 5 capacitor to a source of said second reference signal level. 13. The system of claim 12 wherein said means for ?rstly. said capacitor at said ?rst rate as determined by a resistor switched in parallel with said capacitor. 5. The method of claim 2 wherein said steps of ramping and again ramping are carried out by applying a charge to said capacitor at said second rate. 6. The method of claim 1 wherein said predetermined period of time is determined by a clock reference source. 7. The method of claim 6 wherein said clock reference source comprises a crystal oscillator. 8. The method of claim 1 wherein said period of time related to said ?ight time of said pulse to said target is determined between a transmission of said pulse to said target and a reception of a re?ection of said pulse from said target to a point of said transmission. 9. The method of claim 1 wherein said second rate is re-establishing comprise a transistor switch for coupling a 10 secondly and thirdly unclamping comprises a second tran sistor switch for decoupling said capacitor from said source of said second reference signal level. 14. The system of claim 12 wherein said means for ?rstly. secondly and thirdly allowing comprise a third transistor 15 20 switch coupling a resistor to said capacitor. 15. The system of claim 12 wherein said means for ramping and again ramping are carried out by applying a charge to said capacitor at said second rate. 16. The system of claim 11 wherein said predetermined period of time is determined by a clock reference source. 17. The system of claim 16 wherein said clock reference source comprises a crystal oscillator. 18. The system of claim 11 wherein said period of time related to said ?ight time of said pulse to said target is substantially 1000 times said ?rst rate. 10. The method of claim 1 wherein said step of computing determined between a transmission of said pulse to said target and a reception of a re?ection of said pulse from said is carried out by means of a microcomputer. 25 target to a point of said transmission. 11. A system for determining a range to a target based 19. The system of claim 11 wherein said second rate is upon a ?ight time of a pulse toward said target, said system substantially 1000 times said ?rst rate. comprising: 20. The system of claim 11 wherein said means for means for initially establishing ?rst and second reference computing comprises a microcomputer. signal levels; 21. The system of claim 11 wherein said means for ?rstly. means for ?rstly unclamping said second reference signal secondly and thirdly unclamping said second reference signal level further comprise: level; means for firstly allowing said second reference signal means for initiating a timer. 22. The system of claim 21 wherein said means for ?rstly, level to approach. at a ?rst rate. to said ?rst reference signal level; secondly and thirdly storing comprise a comparator opera means for ?rstly storing a ?rst reference time T1”! tively stopping said timer upon coincidence of said ?rst and second, said ?rst and third. and said ?rst and fourth reference referenced from said unclamping means until said ?rst and second reference signal levels are equal; means for re-establishing said ?rst and second reference signal levels respectively. 23. In a range ?nding device. a method for determining a range to a target based upon a ?ight time of a pulse toward signal levels; means for secondly unclamping said second reference said target, said method comprising the steps of: ?rst measuring a ?rst reference time T1”, for calibration of a zero ?ight time indicating an internal timing delay condition of the range ?nding device; signal level; means for ramping said second reference signal level. at a second rate. for a predetermined period of time to establish a third reference signal level; means for secondly allowing said third reference signal second measuring a second reference time T2 level to approach. at said ?rst rate. to said ?rst reference to determine an origin and scale of the range ?nding signal level; device; means for secondly storing a second reference time T2 "fso referenced from said secondly unclamping means until said ?rst and third reference signal levels are equal; means for again re-establishing said ?rst and second reference signal levels; means for thirdly unclamping said second reference signal level; 55 means for again ramping said second reference signal level. at said second rate. for a period of time related to said ?ight time of said pulse to said target, to establish a fom'th reference signal level; computing said range to said target as proportional to 2A. The method of claim 23. wherein said ?rst measuring step further comprises the steps of: initially establishing ?rst and second reference signal levels; 60 level to approach. at said ?rst rate. said ?rst reference allow said second reference signal level to approach. at a ?rst rate. said ?rst reference signal level; and ?rstly storing the ?rst reference time T1 ,4 from said step of ?rstly unclamping until said ?rst and second refer signal level; and third measuring a third reference time T3” proportional to said ?ight time of said pulse; and ?rstly unclamping said second reference signal level to means for thirdly allowing said fourth reference signal means for thirdly storing a third reference time T3,” referenced from said thirdly unclamping means until said ?rst and fourth reference signal levels are equal; from a known pulse width applied to said range ?nding device ence signal levels are equal. 25. The method of claim 23. wherein said second mea 65 suring step further comprises the steps of: re-establishing said ?rst and second reference signal levels; 5,703,678 22 21 secondly unclamping said second reference signal level carried out by clamping a voltage on a capacitor at said and ramping said second reference signal level. at a second rate. for a predetermined period of time to establish a third reference signal level; 28. The method of claim 26 wherein said steps of ?rstly. secondly and thirdly unclarnping are carried out by means of allowing said third reference signal level to approach. at said ?rst rate. to said ?rst reference signal level; and secondly storing the second reference time T2,,ffrom said step of secondly unclamping until said ?rst and third reference signal levels are equal. 26. The method of claim 23 wherein said third measuring step further comprises the steps of: again re-establishing said ?rst and second reference signal levels; thirdly unclamping said second reference signal level; again ramping said second reference signal level. at said second reference signal level. a transistor switch. 29. The method of claim 26 wherein said steps of allowing and again allowing are carried out by altering a charge from said capacitor at said ?rst rate as determined by a current source connected to said capacitor. 10 15 second rate. for a period of time related to said ?ight time of said pulse to said target. to establish a fourth reference signal level; again allowing said fourth reference signal level to approach. at said ?rst rate. said ?rst reference signal level; and thirdly storing the third reference time T3 ,zffrom said step of thirdly unclarnping until said ?rst and fourth refer ence signal levels are equal. 27. The method of claim 26 wherein said steps of initially establishing, re-establishing. and again re-establishing are 20 25 30. The method of claim 26 wherein said steps of ramping and again rarnping are carried out by applying a charge to said capacitor at said second rate. 31. The method of claim 25 wherein said predetermined period of time is determined by a clock reference source. 32. The method of claim 31 wherein said clock reference source comprises a crystal oscillator. 33. The method of claim 26 wherein said period of time related to said ?ight time of said pulse to said target is determined between a transmission of said pulse to said target and a reception of a re?ection of said pulse from said target to a point of said transmission. 34. The method of claim 25 wherein said second rate is substantially 1000 times said ?rst rate. 35. The method of claim 23 wherein said step of com puting is carried out by means of a microcomputer. * * * * *